1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a golf-club protective cover having an opening and closing holder for protecting a golf club, and, more particularly, to a golf-club protective cover having an opening and closing holder for protecting a golf club, in which a main body performing an opening or closing operation and a shape frame opening or closing the golf-club protective cover in conjunction with the operation of the main body are separately formed, thus ensuring simplified manufacturing and low manufacturing cost and allowing the golf-club protective cover to be manufactured in various shapes conforming to shapes of respective golf clubs and thereby making it convenient to use, and in which a bending part for actuating a locking part is provided on the main body, so that the locking part is attached to the main body, thus ensuring a good operation and reducing the number of working processes and thereby allowing the golf-club protective cover to be manufactured at low cost, and in which the opening or closing operation of the main body is performed by a coil spring, thus guaranteeing a smooth operation, simplifying a manufacturing process, and reducing a cost for a spring, and in which a locking piece forcibly performing a locking operation to prevent opening of the protective cover is provided, so that the locking piece stays in a locked state when it is in operation, thus preventing the protective cover from being opened even if protective covers accidentally press a push button for opening or closing the protective cover when colliding with each other during transport or transfer, and thereby ensuring safe keeping of a golf club.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, various types of protective covers for golf clubs have been proposed. The protective cover for the golf club is mostly made of cloth and fitted over a head of the golf club G. As shown in FIG. 1, such a protective cover H is formed in the shape of a shank to surround both a head G2 and an upper portion of a shaft G1 of the golf club G, and is cut in a lengthwise direction thereof to allow the head G2 and the shaft G1 of the golf club to be easily inserted, with a slide fastener Z attached to a cut portion. Thereby, after the slide fastener Z attached to the protective cover H is opened, the golf club G is put into the protective cover H. Thereafter, the slide fastener Z is closed again. Then, it is possible to protect the head G2 and the upper portion of the shaft G1 of the golf club G. However, such a protective cover H is problematic in that the slide fastener Z should be opened or closed using both hands every time the golf club G is used, so that it is complicated and inconvenient to use the protective cover H.
In order to solve the problem, as shown in FIG. 2, a method of opening or closing a protective cover H′ by bending it was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,723 of the applicant of the present invention. However, this method is problematic in that it utilizes only an elastic force of the cover itself, so that an elastic restoring force is weak and thereby the opening or closing operation is not smoothly performed. If the thickness of the protective cover is increased, for example, if the protective cover is covered with protective cloth, the operation of the protective cover becomes worsened. In addition, when a user desires to open or close the protective cover, the protective cover should be bent. However, such a bending operation is not carried out smoothly, so that it is very difficult to perform the opening or closing operation with one hand. When the protective cover is opened to insert the golf club thereto, a hinge portion provided along a central axis of the protective cover rises up like a hump. Hence, it is inconvenient to put the golf club into the protective cover, and the golf club is pushed aside when received in the protective cover, due to the hump-shaped rising, thus causing inconvenience.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a protective cover according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,742 includes a hinge portion, and a pair of protective cover portions H that are hinged via a hinge pin. Thus, when the protective cover is opened, a hinge portion provided along the protective cover rises up like a hump, so that it is inconvenient to put the golf club into the protective cover, and the golf club is pushed aside when received in the protective cover, due to the hump-shaped rising, thus causing inconvenience. Further, a portion receiving a head of the golf club includes a top portion F1, a side portion F2, and a bottom portion F3 and is formed into a molded product by a molding process. However, because club heads vary in size depending on manufacturers and because the difference in size is considerable, such a molded product is incompatible with a wide range of golf clubs, so that it is inconvenient to use and several models are required. As a result, several types of molds should be manufactured, so that it is inconvenient to use.
In order to solve the problems, the applicant of the present invention proposed Korean Pat. No. 10-0958526. As shown in FIG. 4, a head cover H″ for a golf club having an opening and closing frame according to the cited document includes a protective cover h1, an opening and closing wing h2, a U-shaped actuating bar h3, and elastic means h4. The protective cover h1 is made of fabric, and has a head portion covering a head of the golf club to protect it, and a shank portion extending downwards from the head portion to surround a shaft. The opening and closing wing h2 is fixedly inserted into the protective cover, and has an opening and closing hinge groove that extends longitudinally in such a way as to be opened or closed about the hinge groove. The U-shaped actuating bar h3 is provided on a middle portion in a longitudinal direction of the opening and closing wing h2, thus opening or closing the opening and closing wing h2. The elastic means h4 are provided on upper and lower portions of the opening and closing wing h2, respectively, to elastically bias the opening and closing wing h2 in a closing direction. However, the above-mentioned document is problematic in that the elastic means is made by fabricating a hard steel wire of spring steel into a special shape, so that its manufacturing cost is high, and besides, it is very difficult to anchor the hard steel wire. Further, since the opening and closing wing is inclined at a predetermined angle, it is difficult for a person with small hands to grasp the head cover. Furthermore, even when the head cover is closed, it may be slightly opened, so that marketability is poor. Moreover, it is very difficult to conform the head cover to the various shapes of different golf clubs. Further, this is problematic in that a locking part h5 is provided on an outer surface of the protective cover h1, so that several processes are required to attach the locking part to the protective cover h1 and thereby manufacturing cost thereof is significantly high, and as a result it is impossible, from a business perspective, for the cover to be profitable.
In order to solve the problems, as shown in FIG. 5, plate springs h6 are used to actuate the opening and closing wing h2. But, in the case of using the plate spring h6 as such, the manufacturing cost of the plate spring h6 is high and it is impossible to reuse the plate spring h6 if it is deformed, thus causing an inconvenience to a user. Further, it is very difficult to drill a hole through the plate spring h6 in the opening and closing wing h2 and besides it takes a long time to drill the hole, so that manufacturing time is increased. Especially when it is in use, noise is made because of friction between the plate spring h6 and the opening and closing wing h2, so that people tend to avoid its use.